West Vancouver Mayor Mark Sager steps down as chair of police board

West Vancouver Mayor Mark Sager has stepped down as head of the West Vancouver police board.

Sager – like other mayors of B.C. municipalities with their own police forces – was previously chair of the police board, a position he assumed automatically upon election.

On Monday night, however, Sager introduced a surprise motion at the regular public council meeting to appoint Coun. Christine Cassidy as the District of West Vancouver’s new municipal representative to the police board, effective immediately.

The move comes as the province recently brought in legislation which will allow police board members – most of whom are appointed by the province – to vote for the chair instead of having the mayor assume that role automatically.

Sager said Monday he is not in favour of the change, but given the provincial rule change, ”I think we may as well take the opportunity to have other members of council serve on the police board,” he said.

The provincial changes to the Police Act – which came into force April 25 – also require municipal councils to elect their representative to the police board, rather than having the mayor automatically assume that position.

There was little discussion of the change in municipal representatives, which was supported by council.

Upon questioning by Coun. Nora Gambioli, Sager clarified that Cassidy's position as municipal representative on the police board would be for the rest of the calendar year.

The election of Cassidy – who said she attended the most recent police board meeting as an observer – to the police board was a late addition to the agenda Monday night.

Sager’s departure from the police board comes after more than 650 people signed an online petition circulated by a West Vancouver resident last month calling for Sager to step down as both mayor and chair of the police board after he was suspended for two years for professional misconduct by the B.C. Law Society.

The petition also cited a 2023 bullying and harassment investigation at the district that looked into Sager’s conduct. The results of that have never been released.

Other members of the West Vancouver Police Board include Sxwíxwtn (Wilson Williams), elected councillor and spokesperson for the Squamish Nation; West Vancouver businessman and real estate developer Yang Wang; accountant and financial advisor Peter Gibsons; businessman and university teacher Mehran Kiai; professional engineer Damineh Akhavan; and Indigenous justice consultant Mavis Boucher.

The board has yet to vote for a new chair to replace Sager. That is scheduled to happen at the next police board meeting, May 29.

The recent changes to the Police Act were brought in as the province locked horns with Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke, over the province’s desire to see Surrey operate a municipal police force while Locke campaigned on a return to the RCMP.

As part of that ongoing fight, the province suspended the police board, including Locke as chair, and appointed Abbotsford police chief Mike Serr as administrator of the board. The City of Surrey is currently challenging the province in court over policing issues.